Smallpox

I hope that some day the practice of producing cowpox in human beings will spread over the world - when that day comes, there will be no more smallpox - Edward Jenner

Smallpox
Smallpox

image by: NSW State Archives

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Remembering smallpox eradication

I never really knew smallpox but for many people around the world during the 1960's and 70's, the word smallpox inspired fear. It led to death and serious illnesses, and for some survivors, blindness or disfiguring scars that lasted a lifetime.

For me, thinking about smallpox eradication brings back a childhood memory of my dad being away for three months in Bangladesh as a "smallpox warrior". A pediatrician, epidemiologist, and vaccine researcher, he spent August to October 1975 in Rajshahi District of Bangladesh organizing surveillance for cases of "variola major" - the deadliest form of smallpox - and the immunization campaigns required to contain it and snuff it out.

Efforts…

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 Remembering smallpox eradication

I never really knew smallpox but for many people around the world during the 1960's and 70's, the word smallpox inspired fear. It led to death and serious illnesses, and for some survivors, blindness or disfiguring scars that lasted a lifetime.

CDC

Smallpox outbreaks have occurred from time to time for thousands of years, but the disease is now eradicated after a successful worldwide vaccination program. The last case of smallpox in the United States was in 1949. The last naturally occurring case in the world was in Somalia in 1977. After the disease was eliminated from the world, routine vaccination against smallpox among the general public was stopped because it was no longer necessary for prevention.

CIDRAP

Latest news on smallpox.

MayoClinic

Smallpox is a contagious, disfiguring and often deadly disease that has affected humans for thousands of years. Naturally occurring smallpox was eradicated worldwide by 1980 the result of an unprecedented global immunization campaign. Samples of smallpox virus have been kept for research purposes. This has led to concerns that smallpox could someday be used as a biological warfare agent. No cure or treatment for smallpox exists. A vaccine can prevent smallpox, but the risk of the vaccine's side effects is too high to justify routine vaccination for people at low risk of exposure to the smallpox virus.

MedicineNet

Smallpox is an infectious disease of the past that was eliminated by vaccination. The disease was caused by the variola virus, which spread from person to person. Affected people became very ill with a high fever and a characteristic rash. Up to one-third of people with smallpox died.

MedlinePlus

Smallpox is a disease caused by the Variola major virus. Some experts say that over the centuries it has killed more people than all other infectious diseases combined. Worldwide immunization stopped the spread of smallpox three decades ago. The last case was reported in 1977. Two research labs still keep small amounts of the virus. Experts fear bioterrorists could use the virus to spread disease.

Patient

Smallpox has now been eradicated but ongoing interest in this disease lies both in the success of the eradication programme and in its potential as a biological weapon. Smallpox used to be a common cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and is a viral haemorrhagic fever caused by the variola virus which belongs to the same genus as cowpox, monkeypox, orf and molluscum contagiosum.

TeensHealth

You've probably heard about smallpox in the news over the past few years. You might be wondering what it is and whether you should worry about it. There can be a lot of hype about this disease, so it helps to learn the facts.

WHO

The last known natural case was in Somalia in 1977. Since then, the only known cases were caused by a laboratory accident in 1978 in Birmingham, England, which killed one person and caused a limited outbreak.

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